Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-16

no LONGER he fashionable to wear hats |
in theatres. Society was there. knew
4 by the inccs@nt chatter and the an
wot.ted prevalence OF the frivolous
young man who hurried from seat to
81 at, tossing off glittering bits OF verbal
lrilliaucy to ladies in elaborate evening
toilottcs- bonnet md hatlcss. The
Now York sociCty-nan is whited &C.
1nlchre. He presents an impressive ex
ieIior. hut that which lies beneath his
hair is weak, paid, end perfunctory.
Two wdl-lnown society women sat
directly IN front of me. They we're
in measure ncc0mpanied by an es-
corf. He vas bald and dismal man
WHO sat silently throughout every act,
and ON the iali oil the curtain left his
seat 70 the first caller, and retiring to
the lobby, stood in a corner and hated
himself hotly ill the bell rang for the
curtain to rise again
After the first act q dashing young
eocicty-man Of about fity-fiye dissi-
raIed seasons rushed NJ to the ladies III
front of me, and CHANGING at them
archly hurst out with:
"Icc-htc. Why, are 20" here?
Tec-hee.'
"Why, Nr. Penroyal-Jonos tuh-
huh, gurgled the Indies ioyously.
"a" Do you tobog much this winter?
Not much; do YOU?
every little; tec-hec. "
"Tuh-huh."
"Tec-hce."
Then Mr.. Penpyal-Joncs made two
beautiful little bows and went of III a
Gale of radiant mcuiment IN instant
leter another one hurried up and ex-
pressed his delight at seeing the ladies
"Isn't is lovely?" he asked with spi-
rited ndircfc.
&" LspH it," said both the ladies' rap
turously, without having the most re-
mote conception of what any one was
talking about, land real rain on the
stage" -,
ayes baw, haw-madc me feel
dev1ish damp"
"Tee-hee. Doyou tobog much?"
every little. Goodbye; haw, haw.
"Tee-hec. Goodbye
Ills NJAl ~ AIillh htsfn w ttAAf ttt' Us
Int it was much stronger than Bronson
Howard S play. If it is true, as assert
Cd. that Miss Dauvray gave $1,000 for
"Nlet Rv Chance" the author is an eX-
ceptionallv fortunate man, for there
seems To be little doubt that what was
substantially the same play was refused
hv the Madison-Square Theatre several
years ago. The characters are as old rs
ANYTHING in dramatic literature, and
there is not a spark of originality IN the
treatment. The details of the presen-
tation were skillfully elaborated, the
scenery wonderfully good and the actors
when drilled, clever and Intelligent
lut il ali went for nauGht. Miss Dan
yray plays what is really n secondary
pat, and she is precisely the same Miss
pauvrav as of old-complacent md
serene, hut destitute OF the iain;est spark
of versatility.
THE SISTER AND DAUGHTER or HORACE
GEEELEY.
In couple Of diminutiye rooms IN
Broadway hotel lives Mrs. J.. Greeley
Cleveland, the sister OF Horace Gree
lev. Two years AGO her daughter, Mar
eHerite. vino. Ike Caleb rMmmer 10
The Blind Bertha, was the eyes and
cars Of her invalid mother, died very
suddenly cf pneumonia. Since then
the sister Of the great journalist has
horne her cross alone, for her surviving
daughter is too, an invalid. frequently
demanding the AID and comfort OF her
mother. herself feeble and dependent.
Still, with all her vicissitudcs, this
Queonly woman bears her burden OF
life with martyrs fortitude, and oc'a-
sionally brings her own little world
about her. as in the old times when
her SuiDn was sought by all the literary
maenatcs Of the period. \ few days
ago she gathered about her a 'c0t>r'a Of
Wcll-knovn people TO meet her niece,
Gabrielle Greeley, the only surviving
daughter OF the sage OF Chappaqua.
Gabrielle is a wonderfully striking
brunette beauty, of the Grccian type.
Although rising thirty, her splendid
vitality and glowing magnetism are such
that no one wculd judge her to be beyond
the twenties. Her mission in life IS
charity school attached to the Episco-
pal church at Chappaqua, where she
lives on the ancestral Greeley estate,
purchased by hora few years ago, when
10 Chappaquan was to he found un-
gallant enough to bid against this fair
Samaritan. At her school there came,
two evenings in the week, working
men and women. with children of all
ages. These are Jealous devotees OF
the enterprise, who otherwise would
lack the means and opportunity OF edu-
cation. The charitable duties OF her
self-elected calling have not worn upon
Miss Greeley, and she received IN the
tiny parlor Of her fathers sister with
all the grace and sacOir fairc of a So
ciety belle.
OTHER LITERARY WOMEN.
There were some curious cORtrcicmps
in the gathering on this occasion OF
people who had not met in years and
who never speak as they pass by. There
was Mrs. Martha /. Lamb, whose sue
cossful literary achievement in her i'm
portant History of New York - 50
palCd the intellectual fires OF tat
less fortunate writer Of local history,
the venerable Miss VI. l.. Booth, that
an armed neutrality has been estIb-
lished and maintained between them.
Mrs. Lambs historical prowess opened
to her the highest social circle of the
metropolis, while Miss Booth remains
"unhonored and unsung in the
charmed circle Of the upper ten. Her
disappointment has soured her not q
little, and, although past middle life,
looks even older.
There, too, was Mrs. Anne Lynch
Totta, one of the pioneers among lite
rary women of New York. In her draw
ng-room nearly fifty years ago Edgar
Allan Poe, William Cullen Bryant, and
Fitz Greene Halleck were haGitucs, and
there Poe first revealed himself rs the
author Of "The Raven" Mrs. Botta,
then Miss Lynch the literary school
teacher, seems to have drunk of the
elixir of life, and is still leader in the